Offers three brief articles on three teacher-initiated programs that involve collaboration with colleagues and students: in music/arts production by fourth and fifth graders; an independent study program in which middle school students wrote grant proposals; and an activity in which seventh graders mapped a timeline of Earth history and geologic…

Presents the 1996 Honor List of eight books of interests to young adults published in 1996 that were chosen as "best books" by three or more other sources. Discusses the books. (SR)

Discusses the term "scaffolding," outlining its theoretical definition and discussing practical applications. (SR)

Outlines, via the fictional character Horace, what many of today's English teachers may be feeling: the compromises, frustrations, and hopes involved in their work. Discusses reform today, maintaining the status quo, and an emerging pattern of change in high schools. Finds cause for hope in the troubled indecision of most Americans about what is…

Discusses the standards controversy as it relates to school curriculum. Discusses studying curriculum in action. Characterizes curriculum as a domain for conversation. Outlines four general principles for curriculum evaluation: quality of contributions to the conversation; quantity of material to be dealt with; relatedness of the contributions to…

Argues against the current penchant for national testing. Argues against the notion that national tests will turn unfit teachers into fit ones. Notes that parents do not send the schools standardized children and that standardized tests are not what will make a nonreader into a reader. Argues that many good books are ruined by prematurely forcing…

Offers eight suggestions regarding how teachers can employ effective strategies to bring about authentic and lasting school improvement: do not coerce; help when asked; do classroom-based research; be the school's best listener; join a National Writing Project site; relate to colleagues as to students; organize seminars/workshops that focus on…

Cautions against a statewide proficiency test based on the author's experience as a high school English teacher with the Michigan High School Proficiency Test. Discusses how, while meant to foster accountability, rigor, and standards, the test instead creates panic, uniformity, and a subversion of sound language arts practice. Discusses how this…

Uses the form of an original three-act drama to sketch the dilemmas of educational reform. Highlights the experiences of a teacher struggling to reform language arts instruction and assessment in a traditional urban high school. (SR)

Questions three trends in school reform: special considerations, leveling, and scheduling. Notes that, despite all these changes, the author has not seen any great improvements. Argues that using teachers' ideas, acknowledging social and behavioral issues, and resisting parental pressure are what is needed to help the American education system…

Describes the author's experience as a classroom teacher working for six years on school reform as a member of her school's site-based decision-making committee. Discusses a sense of belonging to a professional committee, teacher-initiated integrated curriculum, frustration in coping with rotating principals, growing expectations to assess student…

Describes a unit on the literature of the Vietnam War (part of a college course called "Twentieth Century War Literature") which uses the arts to enhance student learning. Discusses activities and assignments in which students create visual representations, conduct research, and prepare oral reports on the Vietnam War literature they read. (SR)

Describes an eighth-grade unit on World War II, in which students work in groups to create a research/presentation project. Discusses making the subject manageable, group responsibilities, evaluation of group presentations, steps leading to the lesson, results, and going beyond the subject. Offers an 87-item list of books and a 39-item list of…

Argues that the poetry of war is often compressed and powerful and that students of writing and literature can learn from these poets that restraint creates resonance. Discusses war poems with emphatic conclusions; war poems that are short and direct; and teaching the dynamics of brevity through a variety of activities using war poems and war…

Describes ways to promote literacy and appreciation for heritage by celebrating the literacy contributions of authors of color, such as Heritage Readings and African American Read-Ins. Offers suggestions of favorite selections by Hispanic, African American, Native American, and Asian American authors. (SR)